I’m proud of my little business. It’s still hard for me to believe I’ve worked at this freelancing gig for two years now, wearing as many hats I have – marketer, salesperson, bookkeeper, accountant, project manager.  If freelancing is something you’ve been thinking about jumping into, here are my top three tips to set you up for success:

 

1. Create an online presence.

We freelancers don’t have a brick-and-mortar storefront for prospective clients to pop into and check out what we offer. Build yourself a quality website and at least one social media profile. You want to make it easy for people to find you and entice clients to engage you. Use a social media management tool to manage multiple profiles. There are plenty of free options out there to get you started.

Tools to try: WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Hootsuite, Buffer App

 

2. Stay organized.

With a dynamic online presence you will end up with multiple projects and clients. Find the tools that will help you stay on top of tasks and deadlines and that will mesh well with your work style. I use a mix of old school (LOVE my paper calendar / planner) and new school (Trello and Evernote) to help me manage my projects.

Tools to try: Trello, Evernote, Basecamp, Google products

 

3. Get paid.

No brainer, right? You can’t work for free. If you’re not a numbers person, find a tool that will make it easy for you to track your time spent on projects, input your rates, allow you to invoice as soon as a project is complete, and track payments. There are some fantastic tools out there to help simplify this aspect of your business.

Tools to try: Invoice2Go, FreshBooks, WaveApps

 

You’ve got some homework to do now. Explore and find the tools that work for you then report back. Good luck!